It has become apparent that impaired left ventricular (LV) function in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) is not always an irreversible process, but may be stunned or hibernating:

●Transient postischemic dysfunction is called "stunned" myocardium

●Chronic but potentially reversible ischemic dysfunction due to a stenosed coronary artery is called "hibernating" myocardium

From 20 to more than 50 percent of patients with chronic ischemic LV dysfunction have a significant amount of viable hibernating myocardium and therefore the potential for clinically important improvement in LV function after revascularization (figure 1) [1-4]. (See "Ischemic cardiomyopathy: Treatment and prognosis".)

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